The PRS Guitars McCarty Electric Guitar is a dream machine. Paul Reed Smith guitars are famous for superb design, craftsmanship, and quality hardware and electronics. The McCarty model is special because it honors one of the electric guitar's most important pioneering designers, a direct mentor to Paul Reed Smith. Its carved mahogany body with a maple top has graceful lines and extra thickness for superior tone and sustain. The neck is mahogany with a 10" radius, and has a rosewood fretboard with abalone moon inlays, and 22 frets. The strings have a straight pull over the nut for extremely stable tuning. It has a PRS stop bridge, and its McCarty-design pickups give it a more vintage tone. Electronics also feature 3-way switching, volume, and a coil tap push-pull tone control. Includes hardshell case.

FEATURES

Thick, carved mahogany body

Maple top

Mahogany neck

22 frets

10" radius

Rosewood fretboard

Pearl and abalone moon inlays

Wide-fat neck carvings

PRS stoptail bridge

Vintage Cluson-style tuners

McCarty pickups with covers

3-way toggle pickup selector

Volume control

Tone control with push-pull modified coil tap

Gorgeous sunburst finish

You've wanted a Paul Reed Smith for a long time. End the waiting and order today.

Checked out the PRS McCarty at the suggestion of a store owner. I was there to check out a Les Paul Standard so having never heard of PRS I was skeptical until I played...Read complete review

Checked out the PRS McCarty at the suggestion of a store owner. I was there to check out a Les Paul Standard so having never heard of PRS I was skeptical until I played it!The action is unbelievably smooth! The neck is perfect for my hand and string bending is a breeze! It's like driving a Cadillac, no effort at all.The sound is simply AWESOME! Very rich in the bass and silvery in the bottom 3 strings. Very enjoyable to listen to just cuts right through you. I mean it's mouth watering good!The pickup selector worked great and you got 3 different distint sounds.It even sounded like a fender on the bridge pickup by itself and the tone knob worked great too creating distinct differences as I adjusted it.Nice to play a guitar that pays attention to every last fine detail.The looks, well it's gorgeous!I compared it to the LP and I admit the Burstbucker pickups have a very attractive bite to them, but that was it. I found the electronics wanting. The pickup selection produced no clear distinction and I've gotten better response on my tone controls on my Epiphone Studio.The action was not as good as the McCarty and I wondered to myself that if I played this LP having never tried the McCarty I would have been very dissolusioned with electric guitars as a whole.Very good quality guitar!

VS

Most Liked Negative Review

Okay, but not worth the price

I played this guitar a few days ago. It's a beautiful guitar, and the tone is absolutely amazing, but the actual playability of the instrument is nothing to brag about. The action was...Read complete review

I played this guitar a few days ago. It's a beautiful guitar, and the tone is absolutely amazing, but the actual playability of the instrument is nothing to brag about. The action was off, and it was nearly impossible to do any bends or vibrato. I also found that the neck was far too thick for my tastes. So, overall, though this guitar is nice, it is most DEFINITELY not worth the rather large pricetag.

I've had a McCarty since Nov.'07.I bought it at GC San Marcos.It's a black '03.I would have preferred a transparent finish,but it was an offer I couldn't refuse.The first thing I noticed,(after I adjusted to the scale length) was the piano-like resonance due to the rosewood neck.(not all McCarty's have one)The playability and fretwork are second to none.I used to think PRS was overpriced.I've just purchased an LP DC for a few hundred less than a new McCarty would cost. I think the McCarty is well worth every penny.

Okay, if you love the sound of a Les Paul, know that this thing can get close... but not with the stock pickups. It is a GREAT sounding guitar though. The sustain can go forever once you tweak the intonation to match your strings. Don't be fooled by that simple-looking bridge, there's plenty of adjustment to be had with the inset screws on either end. Once you get it right, holding a forever-sustaining note on the 15th-19th frets on the High E string becomes commonplace! Quality is as good as the Gibson Custom Shop guitars (VOS series) with their Plek-dressed fretboards, and I think that's saying something because the cheapest Gibson starts at $3k! The vintage-sounding pickups sound okay, but a little dark. They'll nail "classic rock" though. Slip a pair of Burstbucker 1 and 2s into the guitar though and watch it shine! Throw down a 500T ceramic pickup and stand back 'cause it SCREAMS liquid metal tones! All in all, one of the best I've ever owned!

I have had this guitar for the last few months and I couldn't be happier. It's versatility in sound, great sustain, and super fast action outpreform my Les Paul Standard, 69 reissue SG, American Tele, and Parker Nitefly by miles. I counldn't reccomend this guitar enough. Yes it is expensive, but so are all of the other guitars in it's class. I am yet to talk to someone who has owned a McCarty who has not loved it. If you are sitting on the fence right now, trying to decide between this and some other guitar, go play one at your local music store and your mind will be made up. Hats off to Paul Reed Smith!

In 1999 I sold all the music equipment I owned at the time and went shopping for one good piece that I could center everything around and start over. I played a couple PRS models that just left me hangin. I didn't really know one model from the next. I didn't even pick it off the wall, the guy at the store just handed it to me. It only took maybe 20 seconds. The tone. The feel. Even my son who was with me was like Dad that's the one. At the time I'd been a player for over 30 years. Before I owned the McCarty I'd never been complimented on my tone. But with the McCarty everywhere I played people were like, "nice tone".This was the first guitar that really heard what I had to play. For an electric guitar it is truly a musical instrument. It has a beautiful tone and if you're a fast player you'll find yourself lingering on notes you play, they just suck you in. For six years I played it through a Carvin 212 Bel Air (great match). Now I have a Mesa 550 Express. Even better. If you want the most versatile guitar PRS makes, in my opinion the McCarty is the one. The best strings I've found for this guitar are the Pyramid 9s. Or the 9.5-44 PRS. The thick neck profile and fingerboard radius make it really a guitar of it's own, it's like no other.

I've owned this guitar for about a year now and I am very happy with it. I got the blue Mateo version with gold hardware. My favorite thing about it is its sound. The pickups provide a nice punch that gives me a warm and rich classical rock sound. The guitar also sounds great clean. I love the pull/push knob for single coil. The other thing I love about it is it's general quality, it seems to stay in tune forever, the action is really low but doesn't buzz and it just has a nice great feel in your hands, not too heavy but just a solid nice weight. I didn't want to give it 5 stars in value because I really didn't like the price but I think that over the years to come it will mature in value, not that I would sell it.

Let me start off by saying i have owned this guitar for 3 years and not ONCE has it gone out of tune. The knob pops up and it allows the guitar to move from the hum of a Les Paul, to the scream of a Strat. The beauty on this guitar in unsurpasable and it can work wih any style of music. The action is comes naturally low thats you could blow on a fret and make a note. This is truly the Ulltimate Guitar!!!

I played this guitar a few days ago. It's a beautiful guitar, and the tone is absolutely amazing, but the actual playability of the instrument is nothing to brag about. The action was off, and it was nearly impossible to do any bends or vibrato. I also found that the neck was far too thick for my tastes. So, overall, though this guitar is nice, it is most DEFINITELY not worth the rather large pricetag.

I was looking for a Les Paul. I have always wanted one and was hellbent on getting one. After spending a week at a local guitar store, I finally accepted the fact that LP's are not comfortable to play. One of the store employees suggested that I try out a PRS. I have heard of them, but I've nevermore played one before. I bought this guitar used about a month and a half. It is an '04 with the bird inlays. Its a beautiful guitar. I play rock, metal, and a bit of blues. It covers all of these styles with ease. The wide neck plays great. It does take a little getting used to though. It is pricey but you will not be disappointed with it.

this guitar is phenomenal! the body is thicker than most other PRS guitars and it makes for a fat and strong tone. As far as the fretboard goes, its beautiful. The inlays are smooth and the wood is spotless. i havent found anything wrong with this guitar...ever. If your looking for a really great guitar then this where you go. However, the price tag is a drawback. My suggestion is to wait for a sale or for a time when your really desperate for an awesome axe...then hop onboard the PRS train.

The product description for this guitar says it all: supreme craftsmanship, design and playability, it truly is MY dream machine. I own Les Pauls, Strats, ESPs, even a Custom ESP and this guitar quickly became my number one and my favorite. The Wide/Fat neck fits my hand perfectly, its a great weight, not too heavy, not too light, perfectly balanced, stays in perfect tune and sounds amazing without any modifications, action was low and fast right out of the case. I couldnt be happier with my purchase, to me, it is irreplaceable among my guitars.